No One Is Free When Furries Are Oppressed

Gary Guy Matthews is just a 46 year-old unemployed computer technician furry who finds gratification in dressing up in a humongous dog outfit. He's also an American, thank you. Why can't he be called "Boomer the Dog," if he wants?

Matthews asked a judge in Pittsburgh to legally change his name to "Boomer the Dog," and was turned down, for what one must admit are paltry reasons:

If Mathews, 44, were to witness a serious vehicle crash and call for help, for example, the name could confuse an emergency dispatcher, the judge said.

"The dispatcher on the phone queries as to the caller's identity, and the caller responds, 'This is Boomer the Dog,"' the judge wrote. "It is not a stretch to imagine the telephone dispatcher concluding that the call is a prank and refusing to send an emergency medical response."

You know some other names that sound like a prank? Justin Case, Barb Dwyer, and Stan Still, all real people. When we deny others their rights simply because we think they are "weird," where will it end? Most likely with somebody beating you up for being weird one day. I mean, just look at you.